Here you see the blunder in the article. In the body of the text, Northup's name is spelled with an extra 'r' and 'o,' and also spelled incorrectly in the headline.

The correction on The New York Times webpage says:

"The errors came to light on Monday after a Twitter user pointed out the article in The Times archives. (The errors notwithstanding, The Times described the article as 'a more complete and authentic record than has yet appeared.')"

It's unclear which user exactly, but Rebecca Skloot is an author - her book was even a New York Times best-seller, and she pointed out the error.

Later joking she is actually a terrible proofreader and speller.

And now, the story is making headlines - after all, a correction more than 150 years in the making - quite the oddity.